Squeeze the last few drops of fun from this summer before getting into the back to school swing. Celebrate a uniquely American holiday, enjoy some no-cook and low-cook recipes, go down south and then get some great tips for packing lunch for back to school. The whole family can help plan, prepare and enjoy these healthy, balanced meals with foods from all five food groups.

Don't let healthy eating go on vacation this summer. We've compiled fun, healthy family meals that will keep nutrition on the table all summer long. We've even featured low- and no-cook recipes to help you beat the heat!

This conference is the nation’s largest, most influential collaboration of professionals dedicated to combating pediatric obesity/overweight. Nearly 2,000 attendees from across the country are expected to attend in 2015, to share and discuss emerging research, best practices, community-based efforts and effective policy strategies that promote and sustain healthy eating and physical activity practices for children, adolescents and their families!

Be sure to visit us at booth 218 in the exhibit hall to explore the variety of educational materials available to support both families, health and education professionals. The following is an outline of other Dairy Council of California activities during the conference and a link to the full conference program guide. We hope to see you there!

Monday, June 29

Smarter Lunchrooms: How the Collective Impact Results in a National Movement!(Pre-conference session) 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
It’s not nutrition until it’s eaten!” Smarter Lunchrooms Movement (SLM), which was developed by Cornell University with funding from USDA, nudges children to make good food decisions and increase consumption of healthy foods. Join us to learn more about this national movement.

Tuesday, June 30

A "Whole" New Look at School Lunch: Perceptions Matter11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Schools are under pressure to provide healthy school meals students will eat. This thought-provoking session looks at how the Smarter Lunchrooms Movement (SLM) promotes holistic changes that improve student consumption of healthy foods. More information available here.

Evaluation Frameworks Designed to Measure Public Health Impact 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
How do you measure the public health impact of a population-based effort? This session explores the use of the RE-AIM framework & a systematic methodology for quantifying intensity change based on event duration, population reach and strategy to evaluate the public health impact.

Thursday, July 2

Creating a Culture of Wellness through Common Core: Strategies and Promising Practice (Roundtable) 8:20 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.
Creating a culture of wellness in our schools is a national priority issue. Together attendees will explore strategies and promising practices to support nutrition education being taught in classrooms with a focus on Common Core State Standards.

MINI-PLENARY: Stress, Youth & Obesity: Rethinking how emotion plays a role in eating behaviors 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Our brain’s response to psychological stress can lead to lowered executive function and potentially poor eating habits as early as preschool. Learn how maternal stress, modeling behaviors and the environment make a difference in childhood obesity. Discover the benefits of stress reduction and mindfulness strategies to enable healthier behaviors and decision-making. The relationship between stress, brain function and food choices will also be explored during this session.

Poster Presentations

Poster viewing is scheduled for June 30th, 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and July 1, 10:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

In honor of June Dairy Month, we're shining the spotlight on both dairy foods and the families that produce them. Milk + milk products are "feel good" foods not only because of their nutritional value and the decades of scientific research confirming the essential role they play in a healthy diet, but also because dairy farmers are stewards of the environment and play a big role in conservation and sustainability.

In California, strict environmental regulations, as well as longstanding water concerns, have compelled many farmers to take pioneering steps to conserve their natural resources.

Some steps, like solar panels, are similar to the same steps being taken by homeowners in communities across California. Others, like a brand new process to convert manure to diesel, generating fertilizer and purified water in the process, are more revolutionary in scope.

These efforts share the common thread that dairy farmers live and work in their communities and go to great lengths to do what's right for their business, right for their environment and right for their community. For these reasons and many more, we're highlighting New Hope, Curtimade and Scott Brothers Dairies as our June 2015 Community Health All-Stars.

Cows Do Their Part Too

Did you know that cows are natural recyclers? Part of a cow's diet includes agricultural byproducts like cotton seed hulls or blemished produce that might otherwise go into a landfill.

Let's Work Together

In addition to the efforts underway at dairies across California and the country, sustainability starts at home. Limiting food waste, being mindful of our water use and limiting car trips are all simple ways we can better conserve our natural resources. Check out more ways to improve sustainability beyond the dairy, at work, at home and on-the-go.

In May, the San Jose District Dietitian's book club met to discuss Dr. Brian Wansink's latest book, Slim By Design. The main idea of this book is to alter your personal environment in such a way that you improve your food choices and eating habits. Since 80 percent of our calories are consumed within a five mile radius of our home—coined our "food radius"—making simple changes in these five places can have significant positive impact. These five locations within our "food radius" include:

Home

Restaurants

Grocery Store

Workplace

Kids' Schools

The research base for the book confirms that small changes can make a big difference! People who successfully lost weight made only one or two changes but stuck with them day after day—with an average of at least 25 days a month.

Some of the ideas/suggested changes in the book that our dietitians thought would work best include:

Clear the counter of food ... except for the fruit

Use smaller plates (no bigger than 10 inches in diameter)

Shop the produce section first

Move the fruit bowl to the main traffic spot in the kitchen (keeping at least two types of fruit in the bowl)

Store healthy snacks like cheese and veggie sticks on the center shelf of the refrigerator

Many of these suggestions were also discussed in our recent snacking webinar, From Potato Chips to Mini-Meals. This isn't surprising, as one of the presenters, Kathryn Hoy, MFN, RD, CDN is one of Wansink's colleagues at Cornell. Check out the archive and set of 10 tips for healthy snacks that include making small changes to your food environment.

Still a Need for Nutrition Education?

One aspect of the book where we didn't entirely agree with the author is the value of nutrition education. The book infers that changing your environment alone will get the job done. We contend that three things need to come together to achieve behavior change:

You need to want to make the change (i.e. nutrition education)

You need to be able to make the change (i.e. have enough money to buy healthy food), and

You need to be triggered to make the change (change environment to trigger success).

All three of these elements are key to success in adopting new healthy habits. That said, our overall rating of this book is two thumbs up.

On a personal note, I made several changes at our house after reading this book. I moved the fruit bowl to the center of the kitchen and am now sure to keep at least two types of fruit in it at all times (it used to just have bananas).

I also added a clear container (that egg container that comes with your refrigerator that is too good to throw out but you never use) to the main shelf of the refrigerator. I filled this easy to see container with ready-to-eat, healthy snacks at eye level. I also moved the less healthy snacks (tortilla chips and cookies) out to the pantry in the garage rather than on a shelf in the kitchen.

My kids return home from college this month and time will tell if they eat healthier snacks with the rearranged kitchen!

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Healthyeating.org is brought to you by Dairy Council of California. The mission of this website is to educate on issues of nutrition and healthy eating. For instance, our calcium calculator helps people decide how much of the recommended daily allowance of calcium they need (and are getting); our 'healthy eating quiz’ is a nutrition test and assessment tool or online nutrition app useful for parents and teachers interested in nutrition and health. Our free nutrition lesson plans help teachers from kindergarten to high school teach nutrition and healthy eating. And, of course, our milk nutrition and dairy nutrition facts offer information on topics such as milk and bone health and the health benefits of probiotics. While you're here, enjoy tips, online games, and quizzes to help get kids to eat healthy including kid-friendly recipes!